Category: Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds will go for a 3-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in an early one today at Great American Ball Park but the Rays rookie right-hander, Shane Baz, might have something to say about that. The young gun is delivering. Baz is 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. In his last turn, Baz held the high-powered Toronto offense to just 1 run in 6 innings of work, resulting in a Rays 7-3 win. The Reds will send lefty Nick Lodolo to the rubber and he has numbers that do not thrill. Lodolo is 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Reds were lucky to get the first two games, with both going to extras, but that luck runs out today.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

With last night’s heated 6-5 loss to the visiting Colorado Rockies, the Arizona Diamondbacks have now lost 3 straight and will turn to the veteran lefty Madison Bumgarner today to get them back on track. MadBum is not what he once was, with a record of 4-8 and a 3.74 ERA, but in his career against the Rockies he is 18-10 with a 3.39 ERA. Colorado will counter with their own southpaw, Kyle Freeland. Freeland is 4-6 with a 4.43 ERA and has not fared well against the Snakes in his career, with a record of 3-5 and an elevated ERA of 5.17. Take the Rockies out of the mountains and they are just 14-26. Arizona has lost 4 straight to Colorado so they are due.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Cincinnati Reds and the Tampa Bay Rays will open a 3-game set tonight at Great American Ball Park. The 45-37 Rays have been hot, going 5-1 over their last 6, and they are 5-1 in their last 6 interleague road games. They will also have their ace on the bump, southpaw Shane McClanahan, and this guy can deliver. McClanahan is 9-3 with a nasty ERA of only 1.74 and a 0.80 WHIP. The Reds, who are 29-54 and reside dead last in the NL Central, will have Luis Castillo toeing the rubber. He is upside down at 3-4 but has a respectable 3.09 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. McClanahan is one of the best left-handed starters in the game and the Reds are 0-6 in their last 6 against southies. The side to consider here is Tampa.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The 30-54 Washington Nationals finally got back into the Win column yesterday with a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Today they will play the rubber game of their 3-game set and won’t be so lucky. The 43-39 Phillies’ bats were silent last night but should come alive today because they are expected to face the Nats’ Joan Adon. He is 1-11 with a 6.97 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Philadelphia is expected to counter with the lefty, Bailey Falter. Falter’s numbers are nothing to get excited about, at 0-2 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP, but the Nationals are just 1-8 in their last 9 road games against a southpaw starter. Philadelphia is 4-1 in their last 5 following a loss and 8-2 in their last 10 against Washington.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Toronto Blue Jays are on a 3-game losing streak but will snap it tonight in Oakland when they play the worst team in baseball, the Athletics. Alek Manoah will be on the hill for the Jays. Done deal.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The New York Yankees are steamrolling everybody and will go for a 3-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians today at Progressive Field. The starting pitcher for Cleveland is Triston McKenzie. He is 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and has given up 16 homers in his 13 starts – not good numbers when you’re facing the Bombers.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Chicago White Sox and the San Francisco Giants will square off today at Oracle Park. Both teams will have guys that are dealing, with Dylan Cease getting the nod for the White Sox and Logan Webb for the Giants. The difference maker will be the skippers. Chicago has Tony La Russa running the show and San Francisco has Gabe Kapler; no comparison. The boys from the Southside are 9-2 in their last 11 overall against the Giants and 5-1 in their last 6 in San Francisco.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX